Регина Мобли завершила 45-летнюю карьеру ведущей новостей в Вирджинии

Regina Mobley is retiring from the world of TV news after a storied 45-year career in Hampton Roads living rooms. Mobley became a household name over her 26 years as an anchor and reporter with 13News Now, but joined WAVY-TV in 2020 following a brief stint in real estate. Mobley graduated from Norfolk State University in 1983 and got her start at local radio stations WNIS and WNOR before being hired as a reporter at WTKR, where she stayed for seven years. Her last WAVY broadcast will be Sept. 15. In a message to the newsroom announcing her retirement, Mobley recounted weathering the early days of the pandemic in a new workplace and said the WAVY team will “always have a very special place in my heart.” “I leave with tremendous gratitude for the friendships, the experiences, the laughter, and the privilege of working alongside so many talented and dedicated people,” she wrote. “Most of all, I leave knowing that we gave it our all in service to the communities that trusted us to tell their stories.” Mobley is retiring to spend more time with her family, according to Carol Ward, vice president and general manager of WAVY and WVBT FOX43. Mobley’s career includes highlights such as being among the few local TV anchors to interview President Barack Obama in 2011, traveling to Bosnia to report on ethnic cleansing, and embedding with U.S. military ships called in for support following Hurricane Katrina. She earned many honors over her career, according to a WAVY-TV news release, including two Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Norfolk Public Schools Distinguished Alumni Award, the Hampton Roads Magazine Reader’s Choice Gold Award for Best Female TV News Anchor, Breaking Barriers 757/Stop The Violence Award of Excellence, along with many Virginia Associated Press and Radio/Television News Directors Association awards. She has been inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame and the Capital Emmys Silver Circle. Ward said the announcement wasn’t fully a surprise to her because she knew, with Mobley contributing so much to the community over the years, “it’s her time.” Ward was part of the team that hired Mobley in 2020 and said it was obvious that she had a great history in the area, but what really stood out to them was her passion. “She’s been pretty cherished, I will say, in the Hampton Roads community, and we knew that, but her passion for (the community) and being able to tell those stories or get exclusives because people trust her and know that she’s going to say it the right way and do things the right way — that was a big thing,” Ward said in an interview. “I think she’s done incredibly well with that for us and for the community.” Mobley was a mentor to younger staff and a leader in the newsroom in general at WAVY, according to Ward, who added she’ll be “impossible” to replace. WAVY will be throwing a going-away party for Mobley in the coming days. Ward declined to comment on any plans to fill Mobley’s position. Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, [email protected]